Frank Strahan, the Melbourne University Archivist whom I knew for many
years ago had an entire network among the disposal chain, including the
Salvation Army, to alert him to family stuff being thrown out. I hope his
successor is carrying this on. No doubt some tramway material may be of
interest to them. Possibly worth opening up a discussion with them.
Tony P
On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 10:42:20 AM UTC+11eme...@... wrote:
> Having had to dispose of the effects of a couple of passed relatives, I
> can vouch that deciding what to do with material THEY valued, but which I
> had little knowledge of was a challenge.
>
> With the best intentions in the world, the people who come after simply
> cannot know what should be kept, and what goes to the tip.
>
> Being faced with a room full of slides and negatives is so overwhelming
> that many will give up. At best they will grab a random handful "to
> remember Grandpa by", and the rest goes to landfill. Our life's work. :(
>
> My approach was to get all images digitised and put on a couple of hard
> drives with with a note on the box of who should have it. The idea being
> that this makes it easy on the people clearing my place and clears their
> consciences.
>
> There's a lot of good stuff people have been photographing out there. If
> you get it digitised and nominate to whom or where it should go, it has a
> good chance of surviving. Otherwise, the chances of a lifetime of photos
> surviving at all are quite low.
>
> Mark Skinner
>
> On Sun, 10 Oct 2021, 11:05 pm espee8800, espe...@...> wrote:
>
>>
>> *In my trawling through old emails whilst reducing my inbox, I came
>> across David Featherstone's #143 post and I think his comments are worthy
>> of a repeat. Of course the answer is obvious, material should go to a
>> museum that will look after the material. As for which one, wellI don't
>> have any opinion. Non Government papers often go to SLV but I have no idea
>> whether they accept stuff from anyone. Indexed Government material will be
>> welcome at Public Records. Perhaps one of the Universities? Maybe even
>> Ballarat who seem to be well organised in the archive area. Andrew Cook
>> has well known views about another tramway organisation. Even the sharing
>> of photos on-line is fraught with danger, witness the yahoo groups debacle.
>> TDU is fortunate that Malcolm Miles maintains an archive but what happens
>> when the inevitable happens to Malcolm? Anyay keep reading --------------*
>>
>>
>> That's it folks, we finally got there. Thanks to the photographers who
>> took all these photos, hard to believe they are over 50 years ago Thanks to
>> Ron Scholten who sold them in the first instance. These are a classic
>> example of shots that would have sunk without trace if they weren't put out
>> now.
>>
>> I always get the distinct feeling that a lot of our history has ended up
>> on the tip. Say I have all these shots, I tell my wife to give them to my
>> mate Frank, who is probably as old as me, when I move on. Sadly Frank
>> eventually drops off the perch too, what is Frank's wife to do will all my
>> stuff? Then Frank's wife has a stroke, the family comes in to deal with
>> things - they don't care about tram photos. They may be historically
>> mindful, probably not, they languish somewhere, then they are gone. It is
>> remarkable how little people have regard to things they are not interested
>> in. This is what happens.
>>
>> Publish while you are still here, while you are in control, imparting
>> your story about your journey via your photos, and the marvellous stories
>> you can tell, or perish, as it were.
>>
>> Enough sermonizing from me, it is just that I care about what you have
>> done and don't want your legacy lost to those disinterested relatives.
>>
>> Best wishes to you all.
>>
>> David Featherstone.
>>
>>
>> ==========
>>
>>
>> Well expressed views David on a topic that should be of interest to ALL
>> tram (and other transport) enthusiasts.
>> But, from the (non) reaction I’ve had to similar postings here on TDU and
>> discussions (usually at funerals) it seems there is little interest among
>> enthusiasts about what happens to their photographs and other “treasure”
>> after they take the final journey - to the tram depot in the sky.
>>
>> I’ve been surprised how many enthusiasts (in the mature age group) I’ve
>> spoken with who don’t have up to date wills that cover their current
>> wishes. Some don’t have a will!
>> And, with so many single/unattached people in “the hobby” there’s often
>> no immediate family to “take care of things”.
>> Several I know who live in what they openly describe as “shambolic”
>> conditions can’t keep on top of their current “treasure” let alone leave it
>> “in order” to be shared “for the benefit and education of future
>> educations”.
>> Two pieces of advice I received many years ago:
>> (1) make sure the intended recipient(s) of any “treasure” is/are willing
>> and able to “receive” it when the time comes. We should aim to leave a
>> “bequest” not a burden.
>> (2) ensure there’s some financial support for your “treasure” to be
>> “re-established”.
>> I’ve known of people who’s “treasure” has been sent to the tip by well
>> meaning family members who didn’t realise or appreciate its “value”. In one
>> case the wife couldn’t get rid of it quick enough. (But there was a third
>> party hanging around).
>> But, as I mentioned above, all this seems to be of little interest in the
>> TDU community so, no doubt, there’ll be quite a lot of “stuff” that ends up
>> in the tip.
>> There must be SO MUCH material in the possession of older enthusiasts who
>> don’t DO social media and prefer not to share their knowledge and photos,
>> etc. I know many such people.
>> I’ll conclude with a quote from a highly respected enthusiast of the
>> past, Vane A Jones (of “Traction and Models” magazine fame):
>>
>> “Knowledge is of no use unless it is shared”.
>>
>> Paul in Melbourne
>>
>>
>> ==========
>>
>> --
>>
>> cheers and best wishes,
>> David in Avenel.au,
>> [Before you change anything, learn why it is the way it is.]
>>
>>
>>
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>